Spain cancels $7.5m Israel arms deal

Spain has cancelled a €6.6 million ($7.5 million) contract for millions of bullets from Israeli arms manufacturer, IMI Systems, following backlash from junior members of the governing coalition who condemned the deal as a violation of the country’s pro-Palestinian stance and coalition agreement.

According to the Guardian, Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has questioned whether Israeli military actions comply with international humanitarian law, describing the rising Palestinian death toll as “truly unbearable”.

His government has also officially recognised a Palestinian State and pledged not to engage in arms trade with Israel since the war in Gaza began on 7 October, 2023.

Despite this, Spain’s Interior Ministry had pushed to proceed with the purchase of 15.3 million rounds of 9mm ammunition for the Guardia Civil, claiming that the contract was too advanced and costly to cancel, and essential for law enforcement operations.

The decision sparked outrage from the left-wing Sumar coalition, led by Labour Minister, Yolanda Díaz, with members denouncing any deal with a “genocidal state”.

The controversy intensified existing tensions between Sánchez’s Socialist Party and Sumar, who have also opposed the government’s proposed €10.5 billion increase in military spending to meet NATO obligations.

By Thursday, government offices representing both Sánchez and Díaz announced that the contract would be terminated and the import licence denied. The government cited a complete breakdown in negotiations and noted it was now seeking legal counsel over the matter.

“The parties that make up the progressive coalition government are firmly committed to the Palestinian cause and to peace in the Middle East,” government sources said. “That is why Spain will neither buy arms from, nor sell arms to, Israeli companies.”

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